Power tools such as circular saws are widely used by carpenters on construction sites. Because such saws are relatively compact and inexpensive, they are also now widely used by homeowners.
Often carpenters need to cut multiple strips of wood from large pieces of wood such as plywood. It is desirable that precise, straight, smooth cuts be obtained. When a power saw is free-hand guided it is nearly impossible to cleanly cut a workpiece precisely.
Various attempts have been made to develop guides for circular saws and other power tools. See, for example, the guides described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,438 and the various saw guides described therein.
Preexisting guides can suffer from one or more disadvantages. For example, they tend to be complex. For many carpenters, all that is needed is a guide to be repeatedly used to make consistent cuts of standard widths, such as 2, 3, or 4 inches. Attempts to make one guide that fits all leads to complexity, undue expense, and difficulty in use. Among other drawbacks found in preexisting guides are some are not able to make accurate long cuts, some are relatively slow and cumbersome to use, some require a clamp, and some are relatively fragile and are subject to warping.
Thus, there is a need for a simple, inexpensive, easy to use, sturdy guide for power tools such as circular saws that can be used to quickly make accurate long cuts in a multitude of standard sizes.
The present invention is directed to a guide which satisfies this need. The guide comprises a planar deck having a longitudinal axis and opposed edges on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, the edges being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. First and second shoulders extend from opposed edges of the deck in diametrically opposite directions. The shoulders are adapted for sliding movement between the workpiece and the guide when the power tool is working on the workpiece. There is an aperture in the planar deck for receiving a working element, such as a saw blade, of the power tool. The aperture is off center, being closer to the first shoulder than the second shoulder. The guide includes mounting fasteners for securely attaching the guide to the power tool. There are a plurality of mounting openings in the planar deck for receiving the mounting fasteners for attachment of the power tool thereto. Typically a power tool is provided with a base plate having mounting holes therein for receiving the mounting fasteners. The mounting openings are sized and positioned to provide at least first and second different working positions for positioning the working element of the power tool at different distances from the edge of the workpiece. Thus, merely by flipping over the guide and refastening it to the power tool, it is possible to obtain cuts of different widths.
An exemplary version of the invention useful with a SKIL(trademark) brand circular power saw, includes a base plate that has two spaced apart mounting holes. The aperture in the planar deck of the guide is a slot. The guide mounting openings comprise a plurality of pairs of mounting openings. There are two pairs of mounting openings on one side of the slot and one pair of mounting openings on the other side of the slot, so spaced that they provide three different pre-determined cutting distances. Therefore, merely by flipping the guide over there is provided different pre-determined cutting distances for the saw.
In one version of the invention, the mounting fasteners have a body and a head, such as a bolt. Preferably the mounting openings are chambered to receive the head flush with the deck for smooth and easy movement along the workpiece.